Htun Naing Oo

Htun Naing Oo

Story written by Kristopher Hall

When Htun Naing Oo was 5 months old his parents learned that it was possible for him to get corrective surgery at Maw La Myain Hospital in Burma, but when they took him there at 1 year old they learned that they could not afford it. Because his parents have 5 children, and his father works a construction job that pays so little he must still occasionally get loans for food, they did not imagine that surgery would ever be a possibility. When Htun started school he was teased, but a kind teacher tried to educate the other children and help him to feel comfortable in school, but it did not make him feel less shy in the world. He told his mother that he would like to be handsome when he was older so that he would not be shy anymore. It wasn’t until they found Operation Smile that his mother could believe his childish dream would be a reality. Now that he has had his surgery, she is the first to call him handsome and to thank the medical team that gave her son a chance at a new life where he can be proud and confident and grow to help others in turn.